MotoGP, Q1, Silverstone: Iker Lecuona surprised, Bagnaia disappointed

England is once again treating the Motorcycle World Championship to consistent conditions on Sprint Saturday, with the weather remaining extremely stable. As on Friday, riders in all classes were able to battle for the fastest times in excellent conditions. The first qualifying session took place without any Aprilia riders – all RS-GP riders had effortlessly progressed to Q2.

Nevertheless, there was no shortage of big names. Pecco Bagnaia had to rise to the challenge, as did Silverstone specialist Enea Bastianini, who had won the premier class’s anniversary Grand Prix on the island in 2024. Franco Morbidelli was also determined to progress to Q2. The VR46 rider had been among the frontrunners for much of FP1 and qualifying. Not to be forgotten was Fabio Quartararo, who had secured pole position with a lap record on MotoGP’s last visit. In qualifying, however, the Frenchman had not managed to get beyond 17th place.

The session got underway at 11.50 am UK time with a blistering opening lap from rookie Diogo Moreira, who clocked a time of 1:57.7 minutes. But Franco Morbidelli was a full three tenths of a second faster: 1:57.421 for the VR46 rider. Brad Binder was also on a good lap, but despite strong sector times, he could only manage sixth place. Fabio Quartararo fared better on the 5,900-metre circuit. A time of 1:57.773 secured him third place in his first attempt.

Franco Morbidelli schaffte den Einzug ins Q2

Foto: Gold and Goose

After a pit stop, the riders were back on track. The 13 riders had just two flying laps left to secure a late place in Q2. Bagnaia went all out, initially setting the fastest sector time, but then had to cut wide. Right behind him, Diogo Moreira tried to capitalise, but he too had to cut his run short.

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Luca Marini, on the other hand, saw it through to the end, with the Italian moving up to fourth place. Then Morbidelli stepped it up again: 1:57.173 mins. Behind him, Iker Lecuona caused a minor sensation. The stand-in rider followed ‘Morbido’ and managed to secure second place. Fermin Aldeguer’s replacement relegated Fabio Quartararo, Moreira and Marini to lower positions. Pecco Bagnaia could only manage the sixth-fastest time – 16th on the grid for the two-time world champion. Whilst Cal Crutchlow finished tenth, Toprak Razgatlioglu could only manage the penultimate (starting) position.